A part of the House of Four Seasons saga, continuation of The Cost of Loving
By Atonia Walpole
(Top picture also by Atonia)
“John!” Of all the people in the world he was the least expected.
“Hey, Toni.” He turned with a little smile. “Looks like they’re harvesting the grapes.”
Toni stepped out of the front door. “Yes…John, what are you doing here, where’s the family?”
“Family’s back in Maine. I just felt like a visit.” He looked at her for a moment and walked off toward the wall, looking down at the harvesters.
This was so unlike him she shook her head and followed.
“Where’s Max?”
“Upstairs in his study. You just felt like a visit?”
“Yeah, hope it’s okay I didn’t call or nothing. I just…Toni, I just walked out of the house and drove to Bangor and got on a plane. I didn’t even tell Donna where I was going…or anybody. I needed to get away for awhile.”
“Something wrong at home, John?”
“I don’t know. It’s like we reached a place and stopped. She’s going that way and I’m going this way. We don’t have much to say to each other anymore other than to argue over the kids.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. She doesn’t know where you are...she must be frantic.”
“Well, she hasn’t tried to call me so she can’t be that frantic, can she? I’ve been gone now for 17 hours.”
She reached out and took his hand and squeezed it. “Oh, John.”
John tugged her hand and pulled her into an embrace. “I just needed to come here and see you.”
Toni closed her eyes. Of all the times for him to come needing her. It had been a week since she’d been to Paris with Terry and she and Max had gotten back on an even keel. “I’m here, John.” She hugged him.
Laughter drifting up from the vineyard where the young people were working seemed inappropriate at this moment. Toni asked him to come into the house.
“It’s full of kids. Jacky’s here and he and Maxi are wild together.”
“Yeah, well, I’m used to that. How’s Rose?”
“Beautiful. Come and see her.” She took his hand and led him into the house. Toni was glad he was here, sorry for the reason because it distressed him, but she wanted to talk to him anyway.
Upstairs Max had Maxi and Jacky in his office playing under the desks, getting tangled up in cables and at one point his lamp went off. He reached under, plugged it back in, dragged out whichever boy was causing the problem and plopped him somewhere else. He was very good with the boys, never raised his voice unlike Toni, who could be heard through the house sometimes. However when the bottle of brandy turned over on the tray, he picked both of them up by an arm and was at the top of the stairs with them when Toni and John entered the house.
“MAX!” Toni looked wide-eyed up the stairs.
He dropped the boys. “Enough….”
Jacky and Maxi scrambled down the stairs to their mother and stopped, Maxi with his finger in his mouth. Jacky stared a minute and ran to him.
John picked him up. “Hey, boy, what are you up to?”
“Uncle John!” He hugged him.
Max came down the stairs, looked at Toni, and then said, “John, what a surprise.”
“Hey, Max. Yeah, I hope it’s not an unwelcome one. I, um, needed to go somewhere and .…”
“No problem.” Max picked up Maxi. “Where’s Tuppy?”
“I don’t know. Maybe out back with Rose?”
“Find her before I tie these two together and toss them over the wall.”
Toni grinned and went through the house looking for the nanny.
John chuckled, “It doesn’t get any better as they grow, I’ll tell ya. I know.”
“They may not get any older.” Max raised his brows. “Turned over a decanter of brandy.”
“Ooo, now that’s getting serious.”
Toni came back, took both boys by the hand and led them out to the back garden. “Go play with Tuppy,”
“What brings you across the pond?” Max led the way to the living room.
“I just wanted to get away for awhile.” John sat down on the sofa and rubbed his face.
Max eyed him for a moment. “Problems?”
“Maybe, I don’t know. I’m thinking we might need a break from each other, you know?”
“Umm, that bad, huh?”
“I dunno. How do you know how bad it is? I know neither one of us is happy right now.” He looked up as Toni came in.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“Got any coffee?”
“I’ll make some now. Max?”
“Is it too early for booze?”
“Yes.”
“Coffee’s fine.”
“When was the last time you and Donna got away for awhile together without kids?”
“Oh, gosh, I don’t know. Um, I guess the last time we were here and then went over to London. That’s been awhile…before the accident and all.”
Max took a breath. “I think you need to do that once in awhile. I’m about to do that myself as soon as the harvest is over. Toni and I need some time together without kids. We haven’t had it, you know.”
“No, I guess you haven’t”
“Kind of reestablish yourselves as adults instead of parents…yeah, we need it.” Max looked down, flicking something off his pants leg.
“I know kids can take over. It seems like that’s all Donna and I talk about when we do talk, whose turn it is to take somebody somewhere. So and so needs new skates because he lost them, you know, that kind of crap. She’s started taking pottery classes so she’s gone in the evenings, just me and the kids. When she’s home I’m working. You and Toni doin’ all right?”
“Yes…we’re fine.” Max looked at him.
“Good. Reason I asked is because I felt a little disturbance in the atmosphere last week. None of my business but, well, maybe that’s why I thought of coming here. Some place to go.”
“Did you really feel something?”
“Yeah, I did. Something happen?”
“Almost…I’ll tell you later.” Toni came in with a tray.
“Thanks, Toni.” John reached for a mug of coffee. “I’ve been up for over 24 hours.”
“You should go to bed instead of drinking coffee,” Toni said.
“I couldn’t sleep anyway.”
Max’s phone began chirruping. “Hi Aubrey….” He moved into the hall.
“Why not call her and let her know where you are at least, John.”
He took a drink from his mug. “I’ll do that, later”
“I’ve got to run over to Chambord. Aubrey wants a second opinion.” Max gave Toni a kiss. “You aren’t going anywhere are you, John?”
“No, no place to go, Max.”
Toni heard the Harley start up and turned back to John. “Anything I can do?”
John leaned back on the sofa and ran a hand through his hair. “Just be you.” He looked at her a moment. “What happened here last week? I know something did.”
“Last week…Max went to Bordeaux for two days and, um,” she took a breath, “Terry called me from Paris and I went to him.” She looked at John, meeting his open, honest straight-forward gaze. “I had to know if I was in the right place or not. He wanted me back, you see…but I came home to Max.”
“Hmm, after you’d spent the night with him. Max must have been pretty upset, knowing him.”
“He was but he handled it very well. I won’t ever do something like that again. I can’t hurt him ever again.”
“He’s a good man. Terry’s a fuckin’ idiot but then he knows that.” He sat back up and picked up his cup. “Sometimes I think we all are.”
“Not you. The rest of us might have screwed up our lives but not you, John. You’ve always been steady and real. Honest and true.”
“You make me sound like a boy scout. I’m not perfect by any means, Toni. I’m hard- headed and stubborn.”
“And warm and sweet,” she grinned.
“Like something from the oven,” he grinned back. “It’s good to see you again. I’ve sometimes regretted staying in the States but if I hadn’t I’d probably be among the screwed up lives on this side of the pond. Donna would have left me long ago. You know it wasn’t easy for me to turn you down in Rome and if I had it to do over…I wouldn’t have. I beat myself up all the way home over that. Did you know Max came in my room and gave me what for? He did because I’d hurt your feelings.”
“It was my fault. I hadn’t seen you in so long and spending time with you although brief as it was rekindled something in me. Reminded me why I fell in love with you in the first place and it didn’t take me long, either. I fell the first day we spent together.”
“I didn’t fall the first day but I was definitely leaning way over. It didn’t take me long even though I knew how it had to end. That was the hardest thing…well not THE hardest. That came later but that day I had to leave you on the balcony tore me up.”
“It did me, too,” Toni sighed, tucking her legs under her in the big chair. “You’re a very special man. I’ve always thought so,” she smiled. “I’ve thought that if I could take each of you and somehow put you all together to form one man he would be perfect, absolute perfection.”
“Now that’s scary. I mean look at us! Good grief, there’s Terry out there floundering around, Jack the absentee father, Max with three kids and me sitting here on your sofa when I should be at home crawling on my knees begging forgiveness for whatever sin I’ve committed that started all this crap between me and Donna.”
“Oh, I’d just take the good parts and mix them all up.”
“What would you do with the leftovers?”
“Um, well, I’ve never been very clever with leftovers,” she laughed. It was good to see him laugh, too. “I’m glad you’ve come. Sorry about why but it’s so nice to see you.”
“It’s the why I’ve got to do something about, Toni. Max suggested we go away somewhere together, without kids. We haven’t done that in a long time.”
“Why haven’t you?”
“I don’t know now that I think about it. You know how it is, you get all caught up in raising kids and their stuff. Mike’s playing ball now and he has to be taken somewhere every day and school and all; it’s hard to get away. But you’re right. I should have . There’s no reason why we couldn’t.”
“You never did get a nanny, did you?”
“No, but we’ve got the neighbor, you know. She looks after them sometimes, helps Donna out."
“Why don’t you take her to the House of Four Seasons, take two weeks or however long you want.”
“I don’t know about that. All my memories there are of you. I don’t think that would help our situation at all.”
“Buy a second home somewhere, down in the tropics. That would really be a change for you, a little getaway place for when you need it.”
“That’s not a bad idea, you know. Maybe not the tropics but somewhere.” John put his cup down. “I think I’ll go call her.” He started to get up and Toni jumped up and picked up the tray.
“Call her from here. I’ll just take this through to the kitchen.” She winked at him and left the room.
John punched the speed dial on his phone and got up, walking over looking out of the window at the front courtyard. “Hey, Donna.”
“Hey yourself. Where are you?”
“I’m in France at Toni and Max’s. I just wanted to let you know where I ended up.”
“Okay…so, um, when, um …John, are you coming back?” Donna tried to keep her voice steady but tears were already dripping from her cheeks.
“Well, yeah. I, uh, I was planning on it. I thought maybe we needed a little time to step back and think about each other without being in each other’s face.”
“It’s easy for you, just get in the car and drive off without…I can’t do that. I’m here now with three children…your children. I can’t go anywhere. I barely get a thought to myself until it’s time to go to bed. The kids want to know where you are.”
“This ain’t about the kids, Donna. It’s about me and you. I thought we had more than that, more than kids between us. It seems like that’s all there is anymore. That’s all we talk about. I’m thinking we need a place to get off to once in awhile, you know, just the two of us without kids.”
“Well, that sounds great. What do you suppose we’ll do with the kids?”
“You get some help, Donna. We talked about that a couple of years ago after Claire was born but you were so hell bent on doing everything yourself when we can afford to have somebody there to look after them. Just think about that and how much time it takes up. I’m not saying we’re not going to raise our own kids, but it’s driving us apart.”
Donna was quiet for a moment. “What did you mean about a place to get off to?”
“A second home, a little hideaway somewhere…anywhere you want it to be. We can do it, Donna. Pick a place you’d like to go to, spend a little time. I’m serious about getting a nanny for the kids. We had all that information at one time in a folder in the office.”
“I’ve never known anybody that had a nanny.”
“Max and Terry both have them. Toni’s always had help and the kids don’t suffer for it either. We might have an adult conversation once in awhile. Think about that.”
“I’m not sure I remember how to do that. I can sure tell the difference when you aren’t here. You help a lot with the boys.”
“Donna, I didn’t call to talk about the boys. Haven’t you been listening to anything I said?”
“Yes, John, but that’s what I’m surrounded with right now. Claire’s waiting to be fed.”
“Yeah, all right, I’ll talk to you later.” John folded his phone and crammed it back in his pocket. He opened the door and walked outside back over to the stone wall, looking down at the vineyards. The harvesting crew was packing up for the day and he could see Duflot in the midst of it. He walked around the side of the old chateau to the back gardens. It was cool and shaded back here and quiet now. The nanny must have taken the boys inside. He found the table and sat down. Ludivine’s voice carried out into the garden. Somebody to help with the cooking and cleaning, somebody to help with the kids and time. Toni and Max had time together to talk, share a bottle of wine. Not that he was much of a wine drinker but it was the thought of it. Could even be a bottle of beer.
Ludivine came out with a plate of assorted things to munch on, cheese, bread, olives and nuts, little tomatoes and sliced sausage. “You might be hungry, yes?”
“Yes, I might be,” he smiled.
Toni brought a bottle and two glasses. “It’s too early to eat. You know what different hours we keep here but I thought you might want something to tide you over.” She poured out two glasses of wine.
“No beer?”
“You’re in the middle of a vineyard. There is no beer here.” She smiled and sat down. “You can drink this. It’s not too dry. Did you get Donna?”
“Yeah, I gave her some food for thought. I like the lifestyle you and Max have here. It always seems so peaceful.”
“It’s not always like this. Maxi and Jacky are at an age now, terrible two and terrible three.” She reached for an olive. “I don’t know what I’d do without Tuppy.”
“I was just talking to Donna about a nanny. We can’t even talk, Toni, without bringing the kids into it. I love them with all my heart. They’re mine, you know, but they dominate everything.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, John, because I care about Donna but in some ways she’s never left Alaska. Do you know what I’m saying? I don’t think she’s ever realized what income bracket she’s in now. Really, she shouldn’t have to lift a finger except to do what she wants.”
“Well, we don’t live like you do over here. We live a pretty simple life.” John tried the wine. “Maybe too simple,” he said thoughtfully. “I did mention about getting a second home.”
“Was she…did she think that was a good idea?”
“How would I know? It was time to feed Claire.”
Toni looked down in her glass. There was a time when she didn’t think Connie was treating Max right and she put her foot in and Terry raked her over the coals for that. It wasn’t her place to say anything to Donna but she sure wanted to. Max would tell her to stay out of it, too. She took a sip of wine and looked up at him, staring out toward the fountain deep in thought. How could Donna be so blind? Look what she has. He brushed his hair back with his fingers. Oh, how she remembered running her fingers through that silky hair. How she’d loved him and had given up everything in her life for him. That’s what she’d had to do when she decided to stay at the House of Four Seasons.
“Where would you like to have a hideaway?” he asked.
“Oh gosh, John, we’ve got four homes now, one in Virginia, one in London and then the cottage we own half of in the country. A hideaway?” She thought a minute. “Someplace with a beach, someplace warm, I would think, but that’s me.”
“You never did like the cold weather. I remember you on the back of my snowmobile. You didn’t really want to be there, did you?”
“I was there because you wanted me to be there. I froze my ass off for you. I would have done anything to be with you.”
He met her eyes. “It’s a good thing you’re on the other side of the table.”
“I think so, too.” She smiled a little. “If it was all up to you, where would you like to go?”
“Not too far south. I don’t like the heat.”
“Would you want to stay in the States?”
“Someplace where they speak English. It might be better if we did, easier to get home if something came up. I went to California one time when I was in Alaska. Now that’s nice. I was in San Francisco but I got out of the city a little, drove up the Pacific Highway.”
“Has Donna ever been there?”
“Not that I know of but it might be an idea to take her there for a week, you know. If she likes it then we might look for something along the coast.”
“Why don’t you arrange it?”
“Just…do it?”
“Yeah, why not? Have her meet you somewhere between here and California.”
“If she will. I’ll try again tomorrow and throw that at her.”
Toni set her glass down. “I hear Max coming.”
John smiled, “You’re happy, aren’t you?”
“Very happy and content. I’m at peace with Max.”
“That’s good. That’s the way it should be for you.”
Toni turned her head toward the door. She could hear Max talking to one of the boys. He came out with a tearful Maxi.
“Oh, what’s wrong, sweetie?”
“Jacky’s not being nice. He won’t share,” Max said, giving Maxi a hug.
“We’ll see about that!” Toni got up to find Jacky.
Max sat down with Maxi on his lap and gave him a piece of cheese. “Boozing it up, are ya?”
“I’m just a guest. Hate to say no. You know how it is.”
Max grinned, “I’ve been doing a little tasting. Always seems such a waste because you don’t swallow.”
“I might get used to this.” John poured out a little more and some in Toni’s glass which Max picked up.
Toni came out with Jacky by the hand. He was carrying a toy camera. “Give it back and say you’re sorry.”
Jacky mumbled and handed over the camera to Maxi, who was busy now eating cheese.
Max put him down and he and Jacky ran off toward the fountain to throw rocks.
“I’ll have to watch them. They’ll be in it.” Toni followed behind them.
Max picked up the camera from the chair and looked it over. “Amazing. It talks.”
“Toni and I talked a little, you know, about what you said needing time away. I’m thinking about looking for a place in northern California if Donna agrees.”
“Have you talked to Donna?”
“Yeah, but I think another conversation is coming up.”
“I haven’t asked Toni where she wants to go yet. The harvest will be over in the next two weeks.”
“Someplace with a beach. I asked her.”
“Ah, okay. We missed the summer. Well, didn’t miss it but Rose being so young we couldn’t really go anywhere. Once we got home we stayed.”
“Well, this place is like a resort to me. You got everything, pool, tennis court.…”
“Yes, but we LIVE here…not the same.”
“You were gonna tell me what happened last week.”
Max looked toward the fountain. “I almost lost her. Terry called her from Paris and she went to him. I knew. You know how we know things. I didn’t know when I came home if she’d be here or not. I can’t tell you what that did to me.”
“But you’re okay now?”
“She came home.” He looked at John. “Home where she belonged. She knows it now and I’ve learned not to take anything for granted. He wants her back but it’s not going to happen. I asked him to stay away from her for awhile after Rose was born and I’ll give him that; he did. But I guess it was building in him and he had to try. I don’t expect it to happen again.”
“She loves you, Max. I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about there. You two were meant for each other. I’ve known that for a long time.”
Max smiled and picked up the wine glass. “I agree. Now we just have to get you sorted out.”
Sorting out John wasn’t going to be so easy. He climbed in the bed and pulled up the lavender-scented sheets and thought about his situation. He had a great home, maybe not as stately as La Siroque, but it was home, all he needed. He had three great kids, smart too. Mike and Joey were in the top of their class in school and Claire, sweetest little girl. He sighed and turned over on his side. Donna was a good mother, made sure everybody had what they needed from her…except him. Somehow he’d slipped down the totem pole. He wasn’t number one anymore. There were three ahead of him. He thought it started when Claire was born.
Donna was busier than ever after her birth and he understood some of that and did his best to help out especially with the boys, newborn baby girls being a little out of his league. Gradually it happened without either of them noticing. Claire was three now and at this rate in a few years they wouldn’t even know each other anymore. It had come to a point where something had to be done. Maybe leaving wasn’t the right thing but he had to get away from it to see what the problem was. Making time for one another wasn’t so easy, trying to eke out an hour here and there and then all they talked about were the children. He missed it, the way it used to be between them. They used to have fun together and a little romance. He plumped his pillow…romance. This was a good place to think about that. The chateau reeked of romance. Toni and Max sure didn’t have that problem and they had three kids between them. What was he doing wrong?
Donna went to the home office and found the folder with the information on nannies. She took a deep breath and picked up the phone. In the end it wasn’t difficult at all, appointments were set up for interviews and with the cottages she could offer a place to live with a little privacy. Privacy was important to Donna. That’s why she’d resisted having someone come in. The thought of another woman down the hall didn’t suit at all. It would be like having a guest in the house, she thought. While sitting there she made out a list of questions to ask. She decided not to say anything to John until someone was or wasn’t hired.
She sat there in the quiet of the office. Claire was down for a nap and the boys at school…and John in France. She sighed and went over in her mind the conversation they had. He was right, of course. They really didn’t spend time without the children. All their activities were family affairs. She couldn’t remember her own mother and father ever going off alone. It was the way she was raised. John was different, though. He was a family man through and through but there was more he needed.
Ever since she'd found out who they were and where they came from and especially the time John had spent with Toni at the House of Four Seasons, she’d felt a little insecure, not quite sure of her place in his life except as the mother of his children. She leaned her chin on her hand. All those years he’d spent winters with Toni, there had been no children there. He’d been a different man. Is that why he was so dissatisfied now? There was no way she could compete with that but then she reminded herself, he’d chosen her and their life together over Toni. He was right. Something had to be done and the idea of a little hideaway somewhere sounded good. It all depended on the nanny. She closed her eyes and sent up a little prayer.
John’s first thought when he woke the next morning was to call Donna but the time difference stopped him. He paced the floor, waiting on the coffee pot. He felt drugged after sleeping so hard the night before, groggy and heavy. He opened the back door and looked out. A mist hung over the valley, giving the whole place an unreal quality. He wondered briefly if the chateau had a touch of magic about it, knowing where it came from, a movie called A Good Year. It was amazing no one had ever put two and two together and figured out who they were. Take Aubrey Duncan, for instance. You’d think he’d have at least read the book since it was about the region he lived in. The smell of coffee brought him around and back into the kitchen
Toni came sleepily down the stairs heading for the kitchen to make Rose’s bottle. Rose still occupied the nursery next to their bedroom. The smell of coffee brewing made her smile. John was in the house.
“Morning, John.” She pulled the formula from the cabinet and found a bottle.
“You’re up early…for you.”
“No, I’m not. Rose is awake and, therefore, I’m awake.”
He leaned against the counter sipping his coffee. “Your nanny doesn’t get up with her?”
“No, either Max or I take care of the early morning feedings. She’ll take over later. Did you sleep well?”
“Like a rock. It may take this whole pot to wake me up.”
“I guess the time difference is messing with you, too.”
“Probably. Toni, did you ever think this place here was part of the magic?”
Toni looked over at him, fastening the nipple on the bottle. “Everything we do is part of it I think. Sometimes I think we sort of live in the real world but apart from it. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“I know what you mean. I was just thinking about this chateau and Max and wondered why Aubrey never figured it out.”
“Well, I don’t imagine his mind would ever go there, you know? How fantastic is it anyway.” She took the bottle back up the stairs.
“Yeah, fantastic,” he said under his breath. Then he remembered that he had been recognized in Gloucester when he was playing hockey with the local team. Lucky, he guessed they were all just lucky or maybe they did have some sort of magic surrounding them, a kind of protection.
He took his coffee outside. Somewhere a dog was barking and the birds were awake. He thought about his own place. If he were home he’d be out on his dock. He had a sudden desire to be there sitting on the old wooden bench watching the fishing boats go out of the bay down in Belfast. This was crazy. What was he thinking? Going off like that, leaving Donna with everything, and so far away if something happened it’d take him forever to get home. He closed his eyes, listening to the bells over the valley. It was different here but just as peaceful as his dock in the mornings. He didn’t belong here. He felt it strongly and decided he would make arrangements to go home.
Back upstairs he took a shower and put on the clothes he’d bought in Marseilles. He’d left without anything. Maybe Max had a little bag he could carry his clothes home in. The house was alive now. He could hear the boys' high-pitched voices. Walking down the hall, he smiled. They were coming from Max and Toni’s room. Toni was at the top of the stairs.
“Hello again. Ready for some breakfast?”
“Yeah, I think so. Um, Toni, I think I’m going to try and get a flight out today if I can.”
Toni looked at him as they went down the stairs. “Are you okay, John?”
“I don’t know, to tell you the truth, but I know I should be on the other side of the Atlantic. Sorry about dropping in like this.”
“You know you’re welcome here anytime for any reason.” She slipped her arm around his waist and at the bottom of the stairs he pulled her close and kissed her.
“I know. Thanks for being so understanding.” They walked toward the kitchen. “I lay in bed last night wondering why it couldn’t be like this for me and Donna and you know what it can be. I’m gonna make it happen, Toni.”
She stopped and put her hand on his cheek. “I know what you’re capable of. Donna is a very lucky woman. Would you like me to call and see about a flight? My French is better than yours.”
“If you don’t mind and I don’t care where I have to fly into. Once in the States I can get home.”
“I’ll try and get you as close to home as I can.” Toni went off to make the calls.
Ludivine was in the kitchen and directed him to the table. Soon he had croissants and fresh eggs and homemade strawberry jam and sausages.
Max came down in a pair of shorts and a knit shirt. “Who are you speaking French to this early in the morning?”
Toni came out in the hall. “Air France. John’s going home today.”
“Is he? He just got here.”
“I know, but he wants to go home.” She smiled and kissed him.
“Good.” Max went into the dining area. “I hear you’re going home?”
“Yeah, if Toni got me a flight. Think you might have a small bag I could use?”
“I’m sure I do. Have you and Donna worked things out?” Max sat down and Ludivine brought his coffee press and a plate of croissants with butter and jam.
“I have. I don’t know about her but I think once I get home we can figure it out together.”
“One piece of advice…whatever it is, remember she’s right and you’re wrong. Do what you have to do but let that be understood from the beginning.” He grinned, “Makes it easier getting around.”
“Getting around what?” Toni came in and sat down.
“Life, darling. Have a croissant.” He pushed the plate toward her.
John chuckled, “Did you get a flight out today?”
“Yes, I did. There’s a 1:30 out of Marseilles to Paris and you have a flight into Boston, closest I could get today.”
“Hey, that works for me. I can drive it from there if I have to.”
“You don’t have to. There’s a connection to Bangor. I wrote it all down for you.”
“Thanks, Toni.”
Donna poured herself a glass of iced tea and took it out onto the patio. It was done. The first girl she interviewed clicked. She was a Canadian and loved the idea of the cottage. Donna took her tea to the cottage and looked inside. It was perfect, Maddie had said, but she thought it needed a good cleaning.
Maddie had grown up with little brothers and at 27 she’d been working with children since she got out of school. She was enthusiastic and Donna had taken to her right away. She would start her job in three days. Now if only John would call.…
She felt quite proud of herself as she closed the door to the cottage. The boys would like her because she was sports-minded and would see that they got to their games and practices on time with all their equipment.
Later that evening she was beginning to worry a little. No word from John but she wouldn’t call him…he was the one who left. She took her bath and got ready for bed, making one last check on the doors downstairs to make sure they were locked. Seeing headlights coming down the drive, she felt a little cold fear running through her and reached for her phone ready to call the sheriff’s office. It was too late for somebody to be coming down that road.
She stood in the entry way waiting, already searching for the speed dial number.
John unlocked the door. Donna’s phone hit the floor and she ran into his arms. “John!”
“Hey, baby…I’m home.”
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